Tag Archives: The Evil Horde

New Eternia Mosquitor- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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See the video review of New Eternia Mosquitor here! I wrote this blog entry about two weeks after I unboxed it.

I know a guy has the market cornered on Mosquitor (Pixel Dan), but I also have fond memories of the mosquito member of the Horde. Mosquitor was one of the final MOTU figures I ever had. The last few I had were Rio Blast, Extendar, Evil-Lyn, Tyrantisaurus, and Mosquitor.

I am CONVINCED I saw Laser Power He-Man and Laser Light Skeletor on some clearance sale at a discount store, but didn’t get them. Maybe this is a Mandela effect thing? (The SpartanNerd is from Spartanburg SC, not Sparta, Greece. Not from Europe…)

I remember getting Mosquitor as an Easter present of all things. I loved the blood sucking gore effect, unique to this figure in the whole of Vintage Masters of the Universe. So how did he turn out for Masterverse?

PACKAGING

Mosquitor comes in the usual MASTERVERSE packaging. There is nice art on the front showing him with wings up and a long curly nosepiece. You can see the figure clearly in the window, which unfortunately for MOC collectors (not me) doesn’t have a full nose piece on. So it looks like his nose is sawed off.

As you look around the side you can see Imp, Hordak’s pet, sitting on the top of a cannon. This is definitely not safe for the little guy! Of note and interest…this figure is labeled “New Eternia” not “New Etheria.” The pet that came with the NE Hordak was not Imp. So it is odd that they used Imp in the art on Mosquitor’s packaging.

The other side shows the library image for easy storing, sorting, or otherwise alphabetizing your figures. (Just joking.). It is nice to have this as a feature, and showing off additional looks for the figure.

The back of the figure features a photoshop of Mosquitor with an animated style background featuring a large skull. We are given windows into how the “action features” of the figure works.

There are cross sell images on the bottom that show us Anti-Eternia He-Man, Mosquitor, and Hordak. I don’t know if I will get get Anti-Eternia He-Man or not. I don’t have a strong connection to him, and I have some other problems with the figure. For instance, we already have Faker. He-Man doesn’t need another doppelgänger. Especially not one more frightening. I have more rant about this offering, but this is a review of Mosquitor, so I will keep it at that. However, if someone gifts me Anti-Eternia He-Man, then…

FIGURE REVIEW

Mosquitor comes with everything you see here in the package.

  • MASTERVERSE Mosquitor Figure
  • Three alternate nose pieces
  • An alternate chest plate “dripping blood”
  • A laser gun
  • A hose
  • Should I count the wings as accessories?

The hose is the same hose that came with New Eternia Snout Spout. It plugs into the back of his head and connects to his armor. What would have been cool would have been the “blood tanks” on Emiliano Santalucia’s design…and then this hose would have been more logical and epic.

The paint. Well, there isn’t much. He is molded in the colors he is supposed to be. There are paint hits on his boots, and he has these red spikes on his shoulder armor which are one of the best details of the new design. After spending some time with the figure, I have noticed some paint slop.

There are two options for displaying Mosquitor. You can have a full tank on his chest, or a partially bloody “dripping” chest. This isn’t a pumping action feature, but instead a chest plate similar to what Battle Armor Skeletor has. The bat shape just pops off and can be replaced. Some of the paint slop mentioned above is on the full tank chest piece. At the same time, I wonder if in that case it was purposeful? It adds to the effect of “blood tank.” But I suspect this was accidental, by the same factory worker who did the other red paint on the figure.

Mosquitor has the same eye effect that some other recent MASTERVERSE figures have had (NE Panthor’s is the best). A 3-d effect where it is like a translucent cover that gives the illusion of a real eye. Except that in the case of Mosquitor, his eye doesn’t look realistic because it looks like the vintage toy’s eye.

All of his articulation is what you would expect from a MASTERVERSE figure, “30 points of articulation.” But it brings up a tired complaint. These figures are lanky, and yeah, they have good articulation, but the net effect is that they are not that posable. Most of them are standing on the shelf in a similar pose. Balancing well on their feet with their arms forward holding something. Maybe this is me not being creative? Don’t get me wrong…I prefer the option to pose as opposed to a statue. I just think it a little bit ironic.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor attacks New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man. NE Snout Spout takes on New Etheria Hordak. And Panthor is just there.

ACCESSORIES

The wings attach to the back of the armor, and are interchangeable with Hordak’s wings. These wings are opaque muted pink, the same size as Hordak’s, and are just as posable. It is important that they remove or are easily hidden because some collectors might prefer to display him without this.

The gun…this is NOT a Horde crossbow. Instead it looks a little bit like the gun on Emiliano Santalucia’s 200x He-Man.org Christmas wallpaper artwork from like 20 years ago. (Once again, I wish this figure had those bloody tanks for his back more than I like the wings.)

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor takes on Four Horsemen Studios Figura Obscura Monkey King. In the background you can see McFarlane Mortal Kombat Khotal Khan and Masters of the Universe Classics Sir Lazer Lot

The nose pieces can go on either the end of his nose or on the end of the gun…in fact on both ends of the gun. (This gives you the option of fashioning the gun into a melee weapon. One looks like the vintage mosquito nose. One looks like a curved dagger, and the other is a tentacle, which anatomically is a “proboscis” I believe.

RATING

I awarded MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor a 5/5 when I filmed the video two weeks ago, and I am going to stick to that notwithstanding the paint slop I began to notice. ***He has an asterisk :)***. I feel like he fits right in with NE Hordak and Mantenna.

He is one of my “need to have” figures, and he does it well. My “need to have list of” members of the Horde now only has Grizzlor, Modulok, and Multibot left to go. I didn’t have that many of them around when I was a kid. (I know there is a Grizzlor, but that molded plastic hair sucks.)

Do you agree or disagree with my 5/5* rating? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Etheria Hordak- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review.

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See the video review here

I grew up with two younger brothers (There is another even younger that I was as adult when he came along). Anyways, when it came to Masters of the Universe I was the leader with the most love, and so I took on the heroic characters almost exclusively. My oldest brother naturally took Skeletor’s guys, and third in line took on the Horde. Which wasn’t to say that I didn’t have any bad guys. I certainly did, with Evil-Lyn, Modulok/Multi-Bot, and Mosquitor to name a few. Oh yeah. Mantenna.

Just the same, we shared them all. So I played with Hordak plenty. And then there is the controversial thing for little boys at the time…She-Ra. Hordak was She-Ra’s version of Skeletor on that show. The only time I played with She-Ra was with my cousins, and it was like…Who are the evil characters? Catra, the “Jealous Beauty?” Not violent enough for my masculine tastes!

I picked up New Etheria Hordak (not a spelling error) when I ordered NE Teela and NE Kobra Khan. Does he do justice to the second-rate bad guys? (Yeah I always prefer Skeletor’s team) Keep reading!

PACKAGING

Hordak came in the typical MASTERVERSE packaging, with a very strong bat motif all over it. No other characters are depicted in the art this time, but the Fright Zone is the setting of this artwork you can see the figure clearly in the window, with a magic staff and pet on his left side. The image depicts hordak with the iconic cannon arm. In the corner is a foil sticker that tells us that this Hordak is a part of the She-Ra 40-year anniversary.

NEW ETHERIA HORDAK FRONT PACKAGE

This time the wraparound on one side doesn’t show us anything but more bats, but there is a reference image on the other side, typical of MASTERVERSE for those who like to file the figures on a shelf or something…GI Joe Classified does this with a number system.

NEW ETHERIA HORDAK SIDE OF PACKAGE

On the back you have a photoshop image of the figure at the Fright Zone and cross-sell images for this wave on the bottom, notably ignoring New Eternia Moss Man. (I have reviewed Teela already, and Kobra Kahn is coming soon).

NEW ETHERIA HORDAK BACK OF PACKAGE.

This bio tells us that Hordak is what devastated New Eternia, and is now moving on to Etheria.

I rather liked it better when he was banished to Despondos, a dimension where Etheria was pulled into.

WHAT DO WE GET IN THE PACKAGE?

Hordak is Cold Slither’s biggest fan! Notice the Roast Gooble CDs. The SpartanNerd last had music published on this CD. A new release, “PREACH!”, has been sent to the publishers! The first album in fifteen years.

Cold Slither Review was video only.

Here’s what you get:

  • New Etheria Hordak figure
  • Bat Wings
  • Cannon hand
  • Bat shield
  • Staff with a creature
  • Technically there is an arm band and two bracers also.

The big story here is the wings. They peg into holes on the back of the armor. And you really have maximum posability with these. They are molded in thin red plastic, with what may be gloss paint over the bones. Or maybe I’m imagining that. They look really batty.

And the battiness of this figure is what makes it awesome, but also kind of a complaint. Can you be TOO much of a bat? This guy out-bats Batman!

The paint on the figure is exactly perfect for Hordak. The Hordak I remember playing with as a kid was these colors. I know some people prefer a more blue-black-white color scheme from the cartoon, but this was awesome enough for me in the 1980s and it is for me today as well. There is a big red bat on his front armor, and some painted on his boots also.

As a kid I remember debating with my friends what exactly was Hordak. I said alien. One friend said robot. Another said vampire. I thought the vampire explanation was crazy, but this is what Mattel has went with in the past few iterations. In DC comics, he was a cosmic vampire, draining the life force of entire civilizations, and had made Zodac’s Galactic protector force (basically Green Lanterns) his enemies. Pitting both factions against each other having them fight to the death, he absorbed Zodac’s life force last…it was revealed he was his brother! A surprise twist. In the end he seemed to share a lot of cues with Emperor Palpatine.

The Kevin Smith show depicts him as a non-magic user but a people abuser just the same…another kind of vampire. His Motherboard virus basically enslaves everyone, and the way he manipulated Skeletor could easily be seen as vampiric.

The Masters of the Universe classics figure had something up on this guy because the “hood” was a separate part. In this MASTERVERSE figure his armor is all one piece.

I don’t have that MOTUC Hordak anymore, but I do have MOTUC Despara who is practically a girl Hordak figure. New Etheria Hordak wasn’t four horsemen sculpted and you can tell it, but it is cool to have both to display together.

ACCESSORIES

I decided the wings weren’t really accessories…more like a part of the figure. The Bat Shield has similar paint, and let me say I think both the wings and the shield could have more painted details. If that is indeed gloss red painted over the bony pieces, they could have chose a different shade or something. And if it isn’t paint then it should be. Your best bet to get the shield in his hand is to remove the hand and the bracer, then place the hand back on. So you see why I kind of counted the bracers as an accessory. The bracers are nicely painted in silver with the bat motif, and while I’m at it he does have an armband on his bicep that also has a bat.

You remove a hand to peg the cannon hand in. This one doesn’t have a bat motif, and looks good on Roboto and also on Trap Jaw. Notable that their accessories also peg into Horde’s wrist, and this is Mattel taking full advantage of what they should have done in the 1980’s.

Hordak’s arm cannon looks great on Roboto. Roboto’s paint sprayer…

And now…about the staff and the creature. Hordak was always depicted as having a pet. Imp…was this little pig with wings…probably a demon. This animal on the staff is NOT Imp. It is a skull similar to the Havoc Staff, but it has bat wing (of course) but also a snake tail. It is a rubbery piece that can be put on other figures or wrapped around arms or pencils or whatever. The staff has a peg on it, and the pet has a hole to keep in on the top. You can use the staff as a perch for a bird, however. I don’t remember the vintage toy having a staff. Maybe it did? I do know it came with a crossbow…most of the Horde members had a crossbow, most of them with a bat motif. Nowadays Hordak doesn’t seem to look right without having a staff of some kind. I think this might be because of the Classics version or something.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Etheria Hordak with Masters of the Universe Classics Temple of Darkness Zoar.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETHERIA HORDAK

HORDAK gets a point for this terrific sculpt. Mattel needs to bring this A-Game to most MASTERVERSE figures. There are a lot of re-used parts, and I suspect the way that they make figures nowadays is different than back in the Masters of the Universe Classics days. Like, maybe they have a computer that can mock up and produce molds and tools faster or something. The worse detail is the wings, which could have more sculpted details.

His paint is great. The gray, black, and red details are accented by the white face that could either be some kind of bone or what I used to believe a tribal mask. There is a pop of chrome on the arm cannon, and there is glossy paint on the bottom of his boots, with matte paint on most of the figure…but all of the red is glossy.

His articulation is usual. Which is pretty excellent actually. Hordak has double-jointed knees and elbows. He has a head swivel on a ball joint. Boot cuts, thigh cuts, hyper-articulated ankles, swivel and hinged wrists, and I’b bet underneath that armor there is a torso cut. Add the wings…and Hordak is one of the best figures for poses in the line.

He comes with all the accessories listed above, PLUS his bracers are removable and he has a removable Horde bicep wrap. Like I said, the wings are weakly sculpted and painted. Not so much as weakly sculpted, but they are sadly very symmetrical, which makes them seem more like a cheap detail. I’m not subtracting a point, but if one were subtracted it would be because of lack of paint on the wings or shield.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Etheria Hordak usurps the Havoc Throne from Skeletor, and takes over his undead empire. Hordak is armed with the blast effect from New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man, and New Eternia Skeletor is knocked to the ground with various Mythic Legions skeletons. There are also three grim reapers here, with MASTERVERSE Revelation Scare Glo, Mythic Legions Maxxilius the Harvester, and Marvel Legends Lady Death. And Panthor looking cute with a leg bone.

The “feels point.” Hordak gets this for me because of who he is. And he is a toy I used to play with a lot as a child, and watch on cartoons and read in mini comics even until today. I felt very burned when the 200x series ended the way it did, where we didn’t get a full story arc for Hordak. (It is said that Skeletor would have kicked his butt and took over.)

So the SpartanNerd rates MASTERVERSE New Etheria Hordak a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! Also be sure to go over to YouTube to like and subscribe to my content. There you will find this review in a different form, as well as other recent reviews of MASTERVERSE, Mythic Legions, and other 6”/7” figures. (Six-Seven)